trailed off into the stillness of the dusky, candlelit alchemist’s laboratory. It was my desk, positioned in the far shadowy corner of the room. Luna returned from exploring, looked at me, and then hopped away behind a virtual wall of shelving loaded with archaic laboratory equipment, worn leather bound books, and discolored parchment scrolls. “Where are you going now?” I was filled with apprehension. My shaky voice must have given away my trepidation when I asked, “Is there someone back there?”
“Hello, Leigh. Don’t be frightened,” a voice called out from the murky place beyond the disorderly collection of old glassware. It was a man’s voice and not creepy at all. On the contrary, it seemed comfortingly familiar to me. I can only describe it as a type of New York City accent. This was an accent that I’d heard from a number of my parents’ New York friends.
I replied to the unseen person. “See! I knew it! There was someone in here. Would you please come out where I can see you?”
Shuffling noises slowly inched out from the area where Luna had run to. He appeared from behind the row of shelving—an old man, dressed in long robes of purple and blue that had a random pattern of peculiar gold colored runic symbols. The robes looked older than he did, and that’s saying something. They were frayed and faded. His long, unkempt, white hair flowed over his shoulders and his equally white beard tumbled halfway down his chest. The old man wore a dark purple hat, not unlike a witch’s hat. Only, it was not as well cared for as any of the ones I had seen at the Witches Halloween Gala. And he had Luna lovingly cradled in his arms. What a little disloyal slut she was turning out to be.
“Well, well. Leigh Epstein.” The man made a little nod. “I am very pleased to meet you. I wonder…yes, I wonder if you could guess my name.”
“It’s my dream, so I’ll call you…Merlin. I mean, you’re every bit of the familiar looking old wizard trope that one would find in countless movies, books, resin figurines, and incense burners. I couldn’t imagine you any other way. I suppose my subconscious even gave you a distinct accent that was disarming to me.”
“Ach, you’re not even close. Merlin? You think I’m that limp putz? Let me tell you something. That guy is a schlemiel. He’s no wizard. A King’s fool! That’s what he is.” The wizard spit on the floor. “He gave up alchemy school to become a clown. He finally found something he’s good at.”
“Well, you sound an awful lot like old Rabbi Majikowski. Or maybe Mel Brooks. It’s my damn dream anyway. I should be able to call you whatever I want.”
“Dreams…what are dreams? Have you ever thought that a dream is like taking a skinny dip into another reality?”
“Skinny dipping?”
“Sure. It might be fun and exciting, but you don’t want to stay in too long. Take a good look around. You’re in this place.” He turned from side to side and waved his one free hand to show me the room. “You can feel it. You can pick up things. You can even smell things. See this cat? You call her Luna, but she is so much more than your pet. You see, cats are the only creatures that can lead us to the portals across time and space. They are also a like a living safety deposit box for the spirits of witches and wizards in between.”
“In between? In between what? Slightly crazy and bat-shit insane?”
“In between physical bodies. Between lives. Some of us choose to hide that way, sometimes we can be captured and put into a cat.”
“Like a genie stuck in an old lamp?”
“Yes! A four legged, furry, condescending, and pigheaded genie’s lamp. And by the way, my name is Cosmos.”
“Just like the name in my story! Okay. Well, thank you, Mr. Wizard. Uh, I mean Cosmos. I’m just going to take my cat and hop out of this surreal swimming hole of yours. I better get back to my own crazy reality. My guess is that I left the window open and now
“Hello, Leigh. Don’t be frightened,” a voice called out from the murky place beyond the disorderly collection of old glassware. It was a man’s voice and not creepy at all. On the contrary, it seemed comfortingly familiar to me. I can only describe it as a type of New York City accent. This was an accent that I’d heard from a number of my parents’ New York friends.
I replied to the unseen person. “See! I knew it! There was someone in here. Would you please come out where I can see you?”
Shuffling noises slowly inched out from the area where Luna had run to. He appeared from behind the row of shelving—an old man, dressed in long robes of purple and blue that had a random pattern of peculiar gold colored runic symbols. The robes looked older than he did, and that’s saying something. They were frayed and faded. His long, unkempt, white hair flowed over his shoulders and his equally white beard tumbled halfway down his chest. The old man wore a dark purple hat, not unlike a witch’s hat. Only, it was not as well cared for as any of the ones I had seen at the Witches Halloween Gala. And he had Luna lovingly cradled in his arms. What a little disloyal slut she was turning out to be.
“Well, well. Leigh Epstein.” The man made a little nod. “I am very pleased to meet you. I wonder…yes, I wonder if you could guess my name.”
“It’s my dream, so I’ll call you…Merlin. I mean, you’re every bit of the familiar looking old wizard trope that one would find in countless movies, books, resin figurines, and incense burners. I couldn’t imagine you any other way. I suppose my subconscious even gave you a distinct accent that was disarming to me.”
“Ach, you’re not even close. Merlin? You think I’m that limp putz? Let me tell you something. That guy is a schlemiel. He’s no wizard. A King’s fool! That’s what he is.” The wizard spit on the floor. “He gave up alchemy school to become a clown. He finally found something he’s good at.”
“Well, you sound an awful lot like old Rabbi Majikowski. Or maybe Mel Brooks. It’s my damn dream anyway. I should be able to call you whatever I want.”
“Dreams…what are dreams? Have you ever thought that a dream is like taking a skinny dip into another reality?”
“Skinny dipping?”
“Sure. It might be fun and exciting, but you don’t want to stay in too long. Take a good look around. You’re in this place.” He turned from side to side and waved his one free hand to show me the room. “You can feel it. You can pick up things. You can even smell things. See this cat? You call her Luna, but she is so much more than your pet. You see, cats are the only creatures that can lead us to the portals across time and space. They are also a like a living safety deposit box for the spirits of witches and wizards in between.”
“In between? In between what? Slightly crazy and bat-shit insane?”
“In between physical bodies. Between lives. Some of us choose to hide that way, sometimes we can be captured and put into a cat.”
“Like a genie stuck in an old lamp?”
“Yes! A four legged, furry, condescending, and pigheaded genie’s lamp. And by the way, my name is Cosmos.”
“Just like the name in my story! Okay. Well, thank you, Mr. Wizard. Uh, I mean Cosmos. I’m just going to take my cat and hop out of this surreal swimming hole of yours. I better get back to my own crazy reality. My guess is that I left the window open and now
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